The first stop on a three-game-in-three-and-a-half-days-road-trip is tonight in Phoenix, in front of 8,000-10,000 fans. The Coyotes might not be in Phoenix long-term, because the crowds only come in the playoffs, but they are here now and Dave Tippett always has them well prepared.

When you look down the Coyotes' roster you wonder why they are 6th in goals for, yet 26th in goals against average. On paper their blueline is the strength of their team.

Martin Hanzal might play tonight, and if he does he'll slot in with Vrbata while Matthew Lombardi is out indefinitely.

Morris-Yandle
Michalek-Ekman-Larsson
Rundblad-Schlemko

They also have Rostislav Klesla, but he's only played two of their six games.

Johnson

Mike Smith is back skating, and he might be ready for the weekend, so the Oilers PP should be licking their chops facing Chad Johnson who only has five career NHL starts, and Monday was his first NHL start in three years.

Historically, a Tippett-coached team is built on solid defence and hard work, but so far this season the Coyotes have struggled defensively.

Much of those struggles can be attributed to below average play from Mike Smith and Jason LaBarbera between the pipes. In four starts (two each) they allowed 19 goals and produced a woeful .850 SV%. LaBarbera did play well after Smith got injured 11 minutes into their game v. Columbus, but he was awful in the his next two starts.

Tippett turned to former AJHL goalie, Johnson, on Monday night and Johnson was perfect. He picked up his first career NHL shutout stopping all 21 shots.

While Phoenix has struggled to keep the puck out of their net, they've been surprisingly productive offensively. The Coyotes are 6th in goals scored, 3.5/game, and they are 3rd in ES goals with 14, but they've also allowed the 2nd most ES goals with 15.

If they Oilers are going to awake from their five-on-five scoring drought, tonight could be the night.

ES WOES

It is only five games, and likely too early to go crazy, but the Oilers only have two 5-on-5 goals thus far. The good news is that the Hall/RNH/Eberle line is producing lots of chances and shots, but they, like every other line, is not generating many quality second or third chances.

The Oilers need to start going to the net and they need some guys willing to stand battle for some greasy goals. They can't expect to score all their goals off the rush. They need to start creating scoring chances closer to the net.

The Oilers can get away with below-average ES scoring due to their exceptional powerplay. The Oilers lead the NHL with a sizzling 35.7% efficiency with 10 goals on 28 chances. The NHL record for highest PP% was 31.9% set by Montreal in 1977, so you can expect their % to drop.

The best PP in the last decade was 25.5% by the 2009 Detroit Red Wings. The Washington Capitals had a 25.2% rating in both 2009 and 2010, so it is possible the Oilers, with their young PP specialists, could hover around the 24-27% range.

The Oilers PK has also been very good. Outside of the dreadful first period against San Jose, when the Sharks went 3-for-3, the Oilers have killed off 23 of 24 penalties.

Their special teams have been very good, but just like last season, if the Oilers can't play even at five-on-five it will be difficult to win.

I've seen some suggest the Oilers ES scoring isn't a concern, because it is only five games, but I'd suggest they recognize that this has been an issue for more than five games.

Over the past three seasons the Oilers have been outscored 516-410 at 5-on-5. Last season they improved, and were only outscored 153-139, but don't tell me this five-game window is "a small sample size." It has been a problem for years, and while they improved last season, they need to be better this year if they want to become a playoff contender.

LINEUP

It will be interesting to see how Krueger allocates icetime tonight. The 56/20/91 combo had more ES icetime than Horcoff's line last game and basically the same as Gagner's line.

Smid-Petry
N.Schultz- J.Schultz
Whitney-Potter

Dubnyk

Yann Danis cleared waivers, no surprise, and Nikolai Khabibulin will dress and sit on the bench, rather than in the pressbox, which is a good thing considering what happened a few years ago when he was in Phoenix.

QUICK HITS

I'm not sure why people still feel the need to question why Shawn Horcoff is on the first powerplay unit. He played there last year and they finished 3rd in the league. He's on it this year and they are first. When the Oilers PP% starts to drop, please refrain from being the clown who wants to blame Horcoff. His role is to win draws and stay in front of the net. The formula has worked for well for over a year, why does it have to change? Because he makes to much money? Seriously, give it a rest already.

I like Krueger's willingness to role four lines and not spend too much time matching them. Tippett loves to match lines, so I'll be curious to see how, or if, Krueger responds.

I spoke to Taylor Hall after the Colorado win and he shared a story about Krueger. In the Calgary game Hall had tried numerous toe-drags, but none of them worked. "They weren't shy to point that out, over an over again (laughs), in our film work this morning. The message was clear, only do those if you are confident you won't turn over the puck." Hall is a quick learner because you didn't see him try any v. Colorado. That doesn't mean he won't try them again, nor does it mean if one fails he's in the doghouse, but the message was received. The Oilers need to cut down on turnovers.

I wonder if Nail Yakupov will do the same? Yakupov really struggled v. Colorado, especially with turnovers. Krueger wants to see how the young players react after a bad outing. I suspect Yakupov will protect the puck better tonight.

The Oilers are 2nd in the NHL in turnovers. I know it isn't the most accurate stat, because each building marks them differently, but I didn't need to look at the NHL website to realize the Oilers are turning it over too often. I suspect they will always be near the top, because they are more of a puck possession team, but they have to avoid the 5-star giveaways at the offensive blueline.

Jeff Petry and Ladislav Smid weren't great in Calgary and were average v. Colorado. They seemed to be a split-second off and got caught in between attacking or sitting back in their own zone. Defensive zone timing is crucial for defenders, and with no training camp it will take some time to get that timing where they want it. I expect them to get better in their own zone with more game action.

Justin Schultz has been better than I expected in his own end. He clearly has loads of offensive confidence, but he's looked solid in his own zone. Playing with a veteran like Nick Schultz helps. The senior Schultz is rarely out of position, and outside of one brutal pass at the offensive blueline, he rarely makes bad decisions.

I watched Oil Change last night and it was too bad they had to squeeze six months into one episode. Aquila Productions had to make some tough decisions on what to take out, and I was told there was some interesting stuff from the draft that got left on the cutting room floor. Too bad. Another casualty of the lockout.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Without Smith the Oilers PP continues to produce as they win 4-2. Nugent-Hopkins become 8th Oiler to score and then Hartikainen becomes the 9th.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Ales Hemsky has a goal and as assist. Hemsky has 34 career points in 29 games v. the Coyotes. He lights them up more than any team other than the lowly Blue Jackets.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Gene Principe will do numerous stand up hits from the stands tonight. The Coyotes will ask him and his camera man to watch the game from the stands to make the arena look fuller. Gene will end up crushing three hot dogs, and accidently spill some mustard on his suit. So for his final hit, he will do it with one of the Coyotes dance team so all the viewers will focus on her and not his suit. Veteran move.

SUPER BOWL

If you want to reserve a great seat for the Super Bowl and be at the best party, send Alley a tweet, or contact The Pint. Alley is a great host and you'll have a blast watching the Ravens and 49ers.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

Okay. Lets go to the 77 / 78 season where they were 6 points clear of the team out of the playoffs. I am foggy on that. Was that when the WHA gave 4 points for a win or when they played double headers? For the love of God stop, please. It's just no fun anymore. Save some dignity. Put on your Sedin Jammies and hit the hay. You have had a looooooong day.

Soupy try following the thread. here's a hint for you 2006. Don't think Horcoff or Symth played for the Oiler's in the 70's but you can check.

What the hell are the Coyotes upset about? Yak was just stoked as hell and restraining himself, no? It looked like he was calling his team over... you know, to celebrate with them. He's a little awkward about it - new to the NHL culture, but that was a kid trying to do it better.

So... what was wrong with Yakupov's celebration this time? One hop and waiting for his team mates to come celebrate too? Not sure where the issue was. Maybe kept his arms open just a touch too long but nothing to throw a hissy over

So... what was wrong with Yakupov's celebration this time? One hop and waiting for his team mates to come celebrate too? Not sure where the issue was. Maybe kept his arms open just a touch too long but nothing to throw a hissy over

So... what was wrong with Yakupov's celebration this time? One hop and waiting for his team mates to come celebrate too? Not sure where the issue was. Maybe kept his arms open just a touch too long but nothing to throw a hissy over

When Lennert Petrell is your best player in a game that's not a good game. I'd say Gagner was the second best player. Dubbey was solid I think he'll be good for us this year. Yak needs a lot of work but every time he scores is awesome. I don't think he's fitting with that line. I want to see him with Nuge passing it to him.

Well, that was a sloppy game. It sucks that we gave the Yotes a point but at least we got it done in OT and not the SO. I love how Yak just kinda stood there behind the net waiting for everybody to celebrate with him and it seemed like everybody was waiting for him to go crazy or something.

Morris is a crybaby.

Good night be Petrell again. I never really noticed him last year because Renney never played the fourth line so all of his minutes were on the PK. Lenny is really impressing me this season. Dubnyk was really good tonight and the bottom line is we got the 2 points going into the Shark Tank tomorrow night. GO OILERS GO!!

When Lennert Petrell is your best player in a game that's not a good game. I'd say Gagner was the second best player. Dubbey was solid I think he'll be good for us this year. Yak needs a lot of work but every time he scores is awesome. I don't think he's fitting with that line. I want to see him with Nuge passing it to him.

Yeah that was the only other thing I could see but as was mentioned already it looked more like, "bring it on in boys" more than, "Svarog! Cast your glory unto me, your earthly conqueror". Or maybe that should be Allah since he's Muslim.

they showed the replay of the goal with a camera that stayed on the front of the net ont he PHX feed and Morris and Whitney started to chirp at each other pretty quick after the goal. They were chirping at each other prior to Morris even noticing Yaks finger dance. When Whitney went to celly with Yak, Morris went right at Whitney...so I don't think it was a Yak issue other than Morris saying something to Yak right after the goal like "better not f*&ckin celly kid", or something...and Whitney taking offense.

Nice recovery by the Oil to win a boring game, hope Horc is OK so Nuge doesn't have to PK any more...

they showed the replay of the goal with a camera that stayed on the front of the net ont he PHX feed and Morris and Whitney started to chirp at each other pretty quick after the goal. They were chirping at each other prior to Morris even noticing Yaks finger dance. When Whitney went to celly with Yak, Morris went right at Whitney...so I don't think it was a Yak issue other than Morris saying something to Yak right after the goal like "better not f*&ckin celly kid", or something...and Whitney taking offense.

Nice recovery by the Oil to win a boring game, hope Horc is OK so Nuge doesn't have to PK any more...

Morris has the reputation as a flake. You are correct he gave Whitney a shot independant of yak's "over the top" hands over the head celebration. Just a classless move by Morris, born out of frustration.

Gags doesnt get a penalty if potter doesnt break his stick.Potter was Rennys guy and I wouldnt mind seeing him go.Pretty solid win boys and Dubies looking good.Thinkin we should feed Habby to the sharks.

Morris has the reputation as a flake. You are correct he gave Whitney a shot independant of yak's "over the top" hands over the head celebration. Just a classless move by Morris, born out of frustration.

I agree, Whitney chirped something his way (Morris) but completely uncalled for attack.

Are you guys serious? The oilers let in 1 goal and you're all still complaining about the defence!?!? You hear it's rough with all the pressure that players feel in TO and VAN but not in EDM. Potter made a few mistakes but played a solid game. Don't be so quick to ship someone away. What happens if Potter gets shipped and somebody gets injured? You want Peckham playing? No thank you.

Personally I think Gagner and Harti win players of the game for the second time in a row. No one on the squad shows as much heart and as much battle as them. People need to stop being so quick to want to ship Gagner away. He's a top 50 centre in the league. What more do you want from your 2C?

The oilers win and you guys still complain!! Celebrate! Don't always focus on the negatives this isn't Ryan Batty's blog.

starting a fight with somebody not expecting a fight after the game is over is old time hockey? well it's a good thing they don't play "old time hockey" anymore because that's idiotic. You can't start punching someone in the face when they're not initiating a fight in anyway.

starting a fight with somebody not expecting a fight after the game is over is old time hockey? well it's a good thing they don't play "old time hockey" anymore because that's idiotic. You can't start punching someone in the face when they're not initiating a fight in anyway.

I wasn't justifying it just recounting what lead up to the the dusting.

Whitney and Morris bumped in front of the net just after the goal went in, they had words - Whitney told him to f-off and Morris started throwing them.

Old time hockey

Watch the replays - Morris and the goalie Johnstone immediately motion to the ref after the goal went in that it was a hand pass - the replay shows Halls shot hits Whitney in the glove - he swings and misses at the bouncing puck and it falls to Yak. They are upset at the non-call, I don't think it has anything to do with Yaks celebration. Thats why they weren't leaving the ice, they wanted it reviewed. And I think they have a case, not that they didn't get an outrageous pp on Gagner and and a horrendous non-call on Doan levelling Horcoff without the puck. More hosre(bleep) NHL refereeing

Watch the replays - Morris and the goalie Johnstone immediately motion to the ref after the goal went in that it was a hand pass - the replay shows Halls shot hits Whitney in the glove - he swings and misses at the bouncing puck and it falls to Yak. They are upset at the non-call, I don't think it has anything to do with Yaks celebration. Thats why they weren't leaving the ice, they wanted it reviewed. And I think they have a case, not that they didn't get an outrageous pp on Gagner and and a horrendous non-call on Doan levelling Horcoff without the puck. More hosre(bleep) NHL refereeing

I agree with everything you said... except the part about PHX having a case...

the puck made incidental contact with Whitney's hand/stick, i.e., it bounced off of them... that's really far from a "hand pass"

but agreed... I don't think PHX was complaining about the celebration. Just pissed they lost and hoping it would get reviewed.

I agree with everything you said... except the part about PHX having a case...

the puck made incidental contact with Whitney's hand/stick, i.e., it bounced off of them... that's really far from a "hand pass"

but agreed... I don't think PHX was complaining about the celebration. Just pissed they lost and hoping it would get reviewed.

I actually don't know the rule for sure but I'm not sure if there is a distinction between non-intentional contact with the glove and an intentional hand pass but I don't think there is (like if a puck is knocked down with a high stick, it only matters that the puck hits the stick). I may be wrong on that. But I'm not complaining, by the way, the bad calls went both ways. Even on the obvious Phoenix high stick on Eberle in OT the referee seemed to deliberate on whether or not to call it -Phoenix had posession for a good few seconds before he blew it down. The NHL is the worst refereed professional sport in the world.

I actually don't know the rule for sure but I'm not sure if there is a distinction between non-intentional contact with the glove and an intentional hand pass but I don't think there is (like if a puck is knocked down with a high stick, it only matters that the puck hits the stick). I may be wrong on that. But I'm not complaining, by the way, the bad calls went both ways. Even on the obvious Phoenix high stick on Eberle in OT the referee seemed to deliberate on whether or not to call it -Phoenix had posession for a good few seconds before he blew it down. The NHL is the worst refereed professional sport in the world.

Gregor has it at the end of his newest offering. Has to be intentionally directed.

I actually don't know the rule for sure but I'm not sure if there is a distinction between non-intentional contact with the glove and an intentional hand pass but I don't think there is (like if a puck is knocked down with a high stick, it only matters that the puck hits the stick). I may be wrong on that. But I'm not complaining, by the way, the bad calls went both ways. Even on the obvious Phoenix high stick on Eberle in OT the referee seemed to deliberate on whether or not to call it -Phoenix had posession for a good few seconds before he blew it down. The NHL is the worst refereed professional sport in the world.

Not sure if this is the only rule that applies... but if it is... it is pretty clear:

Hand Pass - A player shall be permitted to stop or “bat” a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the Referee, he has directed the puck to a teammate.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26491

seems to me that there is no way Whitney could have "directed the puck to his teammate" considering the puck simply bounced off of him.

The rule clearly has in mind some kind of motivated action, not incidental events.

Not sure if this is the only rule that applies... but if it is... it is pretty clear:

Hand Pass - A player shall be permitted to stop or “bat” a puck in the air with his open hand, or push it along the ice with his hand, and the play shall not be stopped unless, in the opinion of the Referee, he has directed the puck to a teammate.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26491

seems to me that there is no way Whitney could have "directed the puck to his teammate" considering the puck simply bounced off of him.

The rule clearly has in mind some kind of motivated action, not incidental events.

Thanks for the clarification - I agree with your interpretation- and I will sleep better tonight knowing it was a good goal:)

No, no; don't worry about it. We all fully believe you have been a big fan of the Oilers AND a season ticket holder since 1978.

With insights like Horcoff sucks because he does and always did, also don't worry about paying attention to his stats because those don't show how bad he ALWAYS has been; how can we not bow to your hockey genius.